Hawg Calls: Hogs step up in much-needed win over Sooners

Nate Allen

The Arkansas sun would have come up Wednesday morning on these young Razorbacks had they lost to Oklahoma Tuesday night at Walton Arena.

But after consecutive losses to Arizona State, recent Top-25 ranked Wisconsin and current No. 4 Syracuse with No. 3 Michigan looming Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., the sun surely shined brighter on them for surpassing the Sooners, 81-78.

"Obviously we had been on a losing streak so we needed it pretty bad," Arkansas sophomore guard BJ Young said during Tuesday night's postgame.

Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson, critical of the Razorbacks' second halves against Arizona State, Wisconsin and Syracuse but overall preaching positives on the Razorbacks' effort during this "brutal schedule," said Tuesday was a triumph to savor for a team striving to make this stretch more than constantly learning from the receiving end of the School of Hard Knocks.

"I thought it was big," Anderson said. "Because while I keep telling them they are getting better you want to see results. I thought we played two good halves. With Syracuse we played pretty good the first half and then you saw a letdown defensively in the second half. I thought our intensity on defense tonight was very good and we took our practice to the game. We had a very intense practice yesterday (Tuesday)."

It seemed most every Razorback invested shares in the success.

"We had 30 field goals and 21 assists," Anderson said.

Young assisted a career high eight times, a season high among these Hogs.

Fourth-year junior Marshawn Powell matched his career high five assists while matching his jersey number with a career high 33 points.

"We just had seven assists as a team against Syracuse the other night," Anderson said. "So that tells you there was better ball movement. Obviously BJ became a distributor because Oklahoma did a good job of doubling and packing the lane. He trusted his teammates and they made shots."

Averaging 21.4 points going into the OU game, Young only scored 10 as the Sooners set their defense upon him. But it was BJ driving for the 79-78 go-ahead basket with 15 seconds after Steven Pledger's trey provided OU's only lead (78-77) of the second half.

"I was proud of our guys," Anderson said. "Because they had a lot of chances to really fold their tent especially when Pledger hit that three to put them up one. But we came back down and answered the call. That's what good teams, and we think we have a chance hopefully to be a good team, that's what they do."

Meanwhile Powell, 11 for 17 from the field and 7 for 8 from the line "on a career night," Anderson said, made shots he had to make from everywhere inside and out. He hit 4 of 6 threes.

"I always said he is a versatile guy," Anderson said. "He can step in and step out. Marshawn was in a zone. He was in rhythm. And our guys did a good job of getting the ball to him at the right to him at the right time. And he had five assists as well."

On a night that Arkansas' offense was "predicated on its defense," Anderson said, Powell deflected OU's last inbounds pass leaving the Sooners time only to fling it rather than shoot it as time expired with OU down three.

Arkansas' closest to a senior as a fourth-year junior hardshipped last season because of a season-ending knee injury two games into the campaign, Powell started Arkansas winning Tuesday's game with Oklahoma minutes after last Friday's 91-82 loss to Syracuse, Anderson said.

Anderson had remarked in Friday's Syracuse postgame that "I saw Marshawn Powell go around and tap each and every guy saying, 'Hey, man, we are going to be OK. Just stay in it."

Asked Tuesday about his post Syracuse speeches, Powell said, "We have got a bunch of young guys and everybody was hanging their heads and thinking the season is over because we lost one game. We have plenty more games to play, plenty more big-time competition to play. We have plenty of chances to make ourselves better."

Tuesday night marked one of those chances and they seized it.

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Hawg Calls: Hogs step up in much-needed win over Sooners

The Arkansas sun would have come up Wednesday morning on these young Razorbacks had they lost to Oklahoma Tuesday night at Walton Arena. But after consecutive losses to Arizona State, recent Top-25